Attempts to censor student work only bring scrutiny

In their quest to keep objectionable material out of student publications, Colorado educators might want to start asking themselves whether their editing is worth the headache — and whether their actions are abridging student speech rights.

For at least the third time this year, a Colorado high school finds itself in the news after an adult has taken issue with what students selected for their publication.

This time, it’s Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, where students allege they were ordered to remove a photo of a gay couple holding hands from their yearbook and administrators maintain the flap was over a separate photograph that showed a straight couple kissing.

Two students — who are no longer on the school’s yearbook staff as a result of the incident — told KRDO that their adviser saw a picture of two girls holding hands on a “couples” page and told them:

“You either cut the gay couple or I cut the page.”

The district maintains that is not the case.

Spokesperson Devra Ashby told KKTV it was pulled because of other photos that were too graphic. One of those photos, for example, showed a straight couple kissing.

“This particular incident had nothing to do with sexual orientation and everything to do with public displays of affection, which is not condoned by Palmer and is against policy in District 11,” Ashby said.

Whether it is a “public display of affection” or the photo of the lesbian couple holding hands, what point is served by deleting a photograph of a scene that students no doubt encounter multiple times each day? Shouldn’t a yearbook include actual slices of student life?

It seems to us that that adults in this situation went too far.

We had a similar reaction earlier this year when the Durango Herald reported that administrators at Durango High School were prohibiting a student’s photograph from the yearbook because her attire violated the school’s dress code.

And just last week, an administrator at George Washington High School attempted to ban distribution of the school newspaper, which included editorials outlining tension between teachers and the principal — who has since announced her intention to resign. Thankfully, that decision was reversed.

The trio of events in which adults are attempting to stifle student expression should give everyone who values the First Amendment pause.

Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said Colorado’s Student Free Expression Law afford students freedom of speech unless it is libelous, obscene or presents a clear and present danger of the violation of lawful school rules.

“The legislature made a purposefully high threshold,” he in a post on the organization’s website. “Showing couples just holding hands cannot justify inciting unlawful behavior.”

We don’t pretend to know all of the details — or the intentions of administrators — in these instances, but what is clear is that their actions ultimately led to greater publicity of the material they objected to than might otherwise have occurred.

It’s simple, they are afraid of getting in trouble with their superiors for having a parent be upset by what they see. In the final analysis, school administrators decide to suppress the powerless (students) in order to save themselves confrontations with their bosses.

Stan Colenso

Rather, Some teachers/administrators suppress the powerless and oppress (students) to support heir own biases.

Barbara

The Durango incident had nothing to do with the dress code. The editors, not the adviser or the principal, exercised their rights and better judgment, and did not let the photo run.

http://twitter.com/curtishubbard curtishubbard

Barbara, thanks for your comment. That’s not how we read the story, which is linked (on behalf of the Editorial board)

http://www.BarnesFamily.com/ davebarnes

OMG!
“showed a straight couple kissing.”
THAT never happened when I was in high school in 1964.

Anonymous

When I was in school we were listening to lyrics like “The purpose of a man is to love a woman and the purpose of a woman is to love her man” . Would that be censored in our brave new PC world?

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.